SCOTUS speculation touches on Klobuchar

Given recent reports that Justice John Paul Stevens is considering retirement from the Supreme Court, the Washington rumor mill is aflutter with speculation about possible a replacement. Among the theoretical contenders: Minnesota's prosecutor-turned-Senator Amy Klobuchar.

As far as Hot Dish can remember, her name was first floated on the venerable SCOTUSblog. That took on new life this weekend when Face the Nation Host Bob Scheiffer asked CBS' chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford whether Klobuchar is a contender.

Crawford's answer? Probably not, because president Obama would risk losing a Democrat in the Senate if Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty had the opportunity to choose Klobuchar's replacement.

Surely that will be a calculation, though Minnesota law is a bit more nuanced.

If Klobuchar were nominated, Pawlenty would appoint a temporary replacement who would then face a special election in the next November primary. So if Klobuchar were nominated this summer (again, totally hypothetical), Pawlenty's appointee would only have several months in Washington before a statewide election.

This whole conversation might be for naught, however. Hot Dish asked Klobuchar about this very issue several weeks ago and she said she is satisfied with her current job.